Freedom Flotilla carrying Gaza aid, Minnesota volunteers unable to leave dock

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read
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In mid-April, former FBI agent Coleen Rowley of Apple Valley and retired carpenter Barry Riesch of St. Paul flew to Istanbul to board the Freedom Flotilla, a handful of boats loaded with 5,000 pounds of food and medicine intended for the war-ravaged people of Gaza. The flotilla, however, never left its dock.

Rather than deliver humanitarian aid, the crew of international peace advocates and relief aid observers have delivered disappointment.

To enter international waters, the boats need to fly under the flag of a recognized nation, and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s partnership with the small African nation of Guinea Bissau appears to have fallen apart as of late last week.

“I’ve been in Istanbul 10 days now,” said Rowley, in a phone call on Monday morning. “When we first initially came, we thought we’d be sailing within three days. … At the last minute, they yanked their flag.”

Inspection

Coalition officials said they were contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry on Thursday requesting an inspection of their lead cargo ship, the Akdenez. “This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed,” reads a statement issued by the coalition over the weekend.

On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, coalition members said the registry informed them it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, including the Akdenez. Registry officials demanded more information about the ships’ destination, any potential additional port calls, the discharge port for humanitarian aid and estimated arrival dates and times. They also demanded a complete cargo manifest.

“Without a flag, we cannot sail,” wrote the coalition, in a statement published Saturday that called the registry’s decision “a blatantly political move.”

Riesch, a Vietnam veteran with Veterans for Peace, chose to fly back to St. Paul on Monday, and Rowley, who is active with Women Against Military Madness, said she plans to return Thursday if the boats don’t set sail.

Rowley became famous after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 for accusing her then-employer, the FBI, of ignoring advance warning signs.

“I spent my whole career in law enforcement trying to serve justice. I even worked on mafia murders,” Rowley said. “And the worst crime in the world is genocide.”

Freedom Flotilla Coalition

Formed in 2010 in response to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition includes member organizations from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Norway and Turkey.

Rowley said the wide-ranging mix of some 200 international volunteers who have gathered in Istanbul this month includes three doctors from New Zealand, a former opera singer from Milan, Italy and others from around the world, as well as many additional volunteers based in Turkey.

After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Rowley accused the FBI of putting roadblocks in the way of Minneapolis field agents trying to investigate Zacarius Moussaoui, the only suspect charged with conspiring with the hijackers in the attacks. She tried to unseat Congressman John Kline in 2006.

More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel began its military strikes in retaliation for the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, which were perpetrated by Hamas and other militantly pro-Palestinian organizations.

Roughly 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, the worst loss of life in a single day since Israel’s founding in 1948, and more than 240 people were taken hostage. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

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